Lists

As a planting designer it is hard to resist compiling lists. In fact, it is essential. Every landscape presents to us a different natural environment and a different local aesthetic, and so involves the narrowing-down of a large selection of plant choices to those which best fit these regional criteria. The result is a garden/landscape which is lower-maintenance and aesthetically fitting. The compiling of some of these lists was an arduous task, one only the most practiced and observant gardener could achieve. Fortunately for us, many such lists already exist, and we have done well to borrow them, furthermore, augment them to our specific inventory. Thanks to the master plantsman-designer Piet Oudolf for his unforeseen help with a number of these.

Long season of interest: plants with very good structure from spring to late winter

Achillea – all species/cultivars

Actaea – all species/cultivars

Agastache – all species/cultivars

Amorpha – all species

Amsonia – all species

Anaphalis – all species

Anemone xhybrida

Aralia – herbaceous species

Aruncus dioicus/cultivars

Aster divaricatus/A. lateriflorous

/A. macrophyllis

Astilbe taquetii/cultivars

Baptisia australis/B. leucantha

Brunnera macrophylla/cultivars

Calamintha ‘White Cloud’

Chelone – all species

Digitalis furruginea/D. parviflora

Echinacea – all species/cultivars

Eryngium – all species

Eupatorium – all species/cultivars

Gillenia trifoliata

Helenium – all species/cultivars

Inula ‘Saguaro’

Iris siberica/cultivars

Kalimeris incisa

Knautia macedonica

Liatris – all species

Lunaria rediva

Monarda – all species/cultivars

Origanum ‘Rosenkuppel’

Pycanthemum – all species

Rodgerisa – all species/cultivars

Rudbeckia – all species

Sedum – all species/cultivars

Stachys – all cultivars

Thalictrum polygamum/T. rochbrunianum

Veronicastrum – all species/cultivars

Grasses

Calamagrostis ‘Karl Foerster’/ C. brachytricha

Carex muskingumensis

Deschampsia cespitosa/cultivars

Eragrostis spectablis

Hakonechloa macra

Miscanthus – all cultivars

Molinia – all species/cultivars

Panicum – all cultivars

Sesleria autumnalis

Ferns

Osmunda – all species

Polystichum acrostichoides

Long season of interest: plants with good all-round character for much of the season

Asarum europaeum

Asclepias – all species

Aster ‘Little Carlow/ A. ericoides,

/A. nova-angliae/cultivars/ A. umbellatus

Astrantia major/cultivars

Cephalaria gigantea

Clematis integrifolia

Coreopsis tripteris

Echinops ‘Vietche’s’

Filipendula ‘Venusta’

Hemerocalis – all cultivars

Heuchera villosa

Hosta – all cultivars

Kirengeshoma palmata

Lysimachia ephemerum

Nepeta ‘Six Hills Giant’

Parthenium integrifolium

Penstemon digitalis

Persicaria amplexicaulis/P. polymorpha

Phlox paniculata

Ruellia humilis

Salvia numerosa

Sanguisorba – all species/cultivars

Scutellaria incana

Solidago – all species

Thalictrum – all species

Trifolium rubens

Vernonia – all species/cultivars

Veronica longifolia

Zizia aurea

Grasses

Andropogon gerardii

Bouteloua curtipendula/ B. gracilis

Chasmantium latifolium

Elymus hystrix

Koeleria macrantha

Pennisetum ‘Hameln’

Schizachyrium scoparium

Sorghastrum nutans

Spodiopogon sibiricus

Sporobolus heterolepsis

Long season of interest: plants which are distinctive but for a shorter period